12/1/24 “A Glimpse of the Coming Messiah”
“A Glimpse of the Coming Messiah”
Psalm 110:1-7
(Show Connect the Dots Picture)
How many of you recognize this?
That’s right, it’s a ‘connect-the-dots’ picture
Did anyone do these as a kid?...or maybe as an adult?
Pretty simple concept, right?
You begin at number 1 … then draw a line to number 2… then number 3…and so on and so forth.
Pictures like this take many of us back to our grade school days…
I’m curious…were any of you that over-achiever kid in school who – after doing the connect-the-dots portion of the picture…
…you would whip out your Crayola 64 crayon box and color the picture for extra credit?...AND you stayed perfectly within the lines…
If you were that kid in school…you & I probably wouldn’t have hung out together too much 😊…I was a pretty sloppy kid.
We were also poor, so all we could afford was the 24 count crayon box…
…The girl who sat across from me in 1st grade…her name was Gretchen, and she had the big 64 count box of crayons…and I was so jealous!
…she had like 8 shades of green…including ‘Seafoam’…man, what I would have given for seafoam green! … So unfair! 😊
For you younger people here today…us old folks weren’t very advanced in first grade…today, first graders are doing like…. trigonometry…
Not me.…I was basically eating dirt in first grade. Times have changed, for sure.
Connect-the-Dots…something many of us grew up with.
So….today’s passage of scripture is – in some ways – similar to a connect-the-dots picture.
Psalm 110 is one of the most important chapters in the entire Old Testament…
Even though it’s only 7 verses long, this chapter gives us some amazing prophetic insight as to the identity and mission of the coming Messiah…
…the one we know as…Jesus Christ.
But, like a connect-the-dots picture, we need to connect the meaning of these verses together so as to see the full picture of the Messiah’s ultimate mission.
As many of you are aware, today is the first Sunday of Advent.
Advent is a special time on the Christian calendar as the church has traditionally devoted the four Sundays prior to Christmas as a time of looking forward to the arrival of the coming Messiah.
Advent is a time of hopeful anticipation for the believer in Christ.
Many passages in the Old Testament speak to the coming of the messiah, which by the way, the word Messiah literally means ‘Anointed One’ or ‘Chosen one’…
…Jesus – the Messiah – was spoken of by numerous Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, Hosea, Jeremiah…even Moses and David.
On this same Sunday last year, we looked at Isaiah chapter 9, which describes the initial arrival of Jesus as a baby…born to the virgin Mary.
Isaiah 9:6 is a very well-known verse: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Many of you have heard the comforting prophesies of Isaiah as he was given special insight from God as to what to look for in the coming Messiah…
In fact, chapter 53 of Isaiah provides a detailed account of how Jesus would suffer for the sins of the world…and how he would willingly sacrifice himself for the iniquities of us all.
This is one reason why we celebrate the season of Advent…to look back at the prophecies of how Jesus would arrive…and the life he would live during his 33 years on this earth
Howeverl…There is another reason why we celebrate Advent…another dimension to the season that also deals with prophesies about Jesus…
These are prophecies that specifically refer to the second coming of Christ at the end of what the Bible refers to as the Great Tribulation.
At this ‘Advent’….by the way, the word ‘Advent’ literally means ‘Coming’ or ‘Arrival’ ….at this second Advent – or ‘Arrival’, Jesus will not come as a baby born to a virgin…
This time.…he will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
…It will be a very different kind of arrival…one in which Jesus will establish his Kingdom of righteousness here after destroying rebellious Kings and nations in his wake.
As believers, we also look forward to this second coming of Jesus because this is when our savior will drive out sin and moral rebellion from this world…and there will be true & lasting peace with Jesus as God and King.
This is the Advent…the arrival…that David prophesies about here in Psalm 110.
As I mentioned before, this Psalm is one of the most important passages in the entire Old Testament dealing with the Messiah and his return at what the Bible refers to as the end of the age.
It was an extremely important Psalm to the New Testament writers as well, as there are over 27 direct – or indirect – quotations to Psalm 110 included in the New Testament.
Jesus quotes this Psalm in Matthew 22 and Mark 12…
Peter quotes this Psalm in Acts chapter 2…
Paul quotes Psalm 110 in 1 Corinthians…
…and the writer of Hebrews quotes it twice – once in chapter 1, and again in chapter 10.
So..let’s dive into this all-important, Advent-related passage.
The first 6 words of verse 1 (Psalm 110:1) reveal a very deep truth concerning the triune nature of the Godhead.
David – the writer of this psalm – begins with these words, “The LORD says to my Lord….”
What a strange way to begin a Psalm, right?
Who is David referring to here?...Who is talking to who?
Look with me at the first 2 words: “The LORD”
Notice the word ‘LORD’ is written in all capitals, right?
This refers to something called the Tetragrammaton…
The Tetragrammaton is a Greek word meaning “4 letters”
The Israelites had such reverence for the name of God, they refused to spell out or verbalize His entire name, so they would take the vowels out of the Hebrew name for God…which is Yahweh….
…This leaves us with YHWH
…or translated “God the Father”….or ‘the LORD’.
So, David begins this psalm by describing God the Father speaking to someone…
Now we must engage in a theological connect-the-dots to determine who He is speaking to….
If God the Father is “The LORD”…then who is this “My Lord” that David speaks of here in verse 1?
Jewish people who deny Jesus as Messiah will claim that this individual with the title “My Lord” must refer to David himself, or to David’s son Solomon.
…But this would make no sense.
Neither David nor Solomon served as Israel’s priest…and in no way could they assume an eternal priesthood – as is mentioned in verse 4 of this psalm.
The key dot connection here is that whenever the word ‘Lord’ is used in the Old Testament with just the “L” capitalized, it refers to the title “Adonai”
…Adonai is a title for someone who is a ruling master…AND it can be used to describe God as well.
In David’s case, it would make no sense to call himself his own ruling master…
…And it would make even less sense for him to refer to one of his sons as his ruling master… (How many of you refer to your children as ‘Master’?)
In fact, David would have never referred to another human being as his master – after all, David was king of all Israel…
Only one option remains…He had to be referring to…God.
The writer of Hebrews also refers to this psalm in the sense of ruling out all other possibilities for the term “My Lord”…
…including beings in the Angelic realm when he says this in Hebrews 1:13 “To which of the angels did God ever say “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”
In other words, only a divine entity could ever be described as being a priest forever...or sitting at the right hand of God…or being able to judge the nations…
The only feasible conclusion from this phraseology of David’s psalm then, is that when David writes “The LORD says to My Lord” …
…He is saying that “God the Father is speaking to God the Messiah”
…or, to put it another way, within the Trinity, the Father is speaking to the Son.
And to eliminate all doubt, Jesus himself confirms this truth in Mattew 22:43-46…
It reads like this, “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? ‘The son of David’, they replied. He said to them, ‘How is it then that that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him Lord? For he says, ‘The LORD said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” If then David calls him Lord, how can he be his son? No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Quoting directly from Psalm 110…Jesus was trying to make the Pharisees see that the Messiah was both David’s human descendant…and divine Lord.
…Unfortunately, many of the Pharisees refused to believe the truth of what Jesus was teaching them.
For us, however, this truth is a vital part of our connect-the-dots prophetic picture for today.
Remember on those dot pictures, sometimes certain numbers would finish off an important image on the page, allowing you to better visualize the entire picture…?
…That is what we’ve just accomplished here in this psalm, and the related scriptural passages that reference psalm 110…
…and – in doing so - we’ve discovered a very important component concerning its meaning.
Does anyone remember those magic-eye pictures that were really popular back in the 80’s and 90’s?
They were pictures of random coloration with no real discernable image…..that is…until you looked deeper into the page…then a discernable image would pop right out at you..
…I used to spend hours looking at those pictures when I was a kid…they really fascinated me
…You know what they say, right? – ‘simple minds – simple pleasures’
In a way, Psalm 110 is like one of those magic-eye pictures…it’s a bit confusing until we really gaze into the text and corresponding verses…than the truth of what we are reading pops up right before our eyes.
Folks, this is why its so important to take part in a Bible Study during the week…or have a Bible with a good commentary….
There are certain challenging portions of scripture where guidance from biblical scholars can be very helpful…
…just make sure to use a reputable Bible translation that stays true to the original Greek and Hebrew…and make sure that the commentator is a trusted one.
If you ever have any questions in this area, I’d be more than happy to help guide you into a solid Bible…that includes a reputable commentary.
The remainder of verse 1 – along with verses 2 and 3, describe the rule of the Messiah here on earth during the Millennium…
The Millenium is a thousand-year period of time occurring in the future that will immediately following the 7-year Tribulation.
Verse 2 (Psalm 110:2) describes Jesus the Messiah ruling from a place called Zion during the Millennial age.
In the Old Testament, Zion is simply another name for the city of Jerusalem…
In the New Testament, the name Zion takes on more of a spiritual meaning & scope, but still can refer to its original geographical area of Jerusalem.
Verse 2, then, is telling us that Jesus will rule from the city of Jerusalem when he comes again…upon his second ‘Advent’
In verse 3 (Psalm 110:3) some of your translations have the word “Volunteers” in the place of “Troops”
Both are good ways of describing the same thing…
These will be the redeemed inhabitants of the earth gladly serving the savior as he takes back control of this sin-infested planet and demolishes the earthly authorities who defiantly stand against him…
What a glorious day that will be…indeed.
Now..let’s turn our attention to Verse 4 (Psalm 110:4)
Here begins a new part of our connect-the-dots picture by referencing someone by the name of Melchizedek.
Here in verse 4, The Father says to the Son “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
Ok…so this is strange, right?
Who is this Melchizedek person…and how was he a priest forever?
Truth be told…We don’t know a lot about Melchizedek, except that he was both a king and a priest.
Interestingly, he lived during the time of Abraham…long before the nation of Israel was ever developed…
..Therefore, he was of a higher order than the priests or kings during the days of the Israelite nation…
…Did you catch that?...He was of a Higher Order!
Genesis chapter 14 clues us in a bit on who Melchizedek was.
Genesis 14:18 reads “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God most high.”
The ancient city of ‘Salem’ was the precursor to the later city of ‘Jerusalem’… look at how Jerusalem is spelled…Jeru-Salem.
..And Salem means ‘Peace’…therefore, Melchizedek could be referred to as the ‘king of peace.’
Later in verse 20, we read that Abram gives a tenth of everything he has to Melchizedek, indicating that Melchizedek is of a superior rank than even Abraham…
The writer of Hebrews informs us in Hebrews 7:3 that Melchizedek was “Without father of mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”
Did you catch all of that?
Melchizedek had no recorded parents of ancestors…he was compared to the Son of God…and his priesthood is eternal.
So…many people ask…was Melchizedek more than just a man?
Was Melchizedek possibly Jesus…before he came to earth as a baby centuries later?
The short answer is that no one really knows for sure.
Bible scholars are split as to whether Melchizedek was actually the pre-incarnate Jesus…or if he was a very mysterious & godly man who served as both a king and a priest unto God?
I do have my own thoughts as to the identity of Melchizedek…and I’d be happy to share those with you when I’m not standing behind this pulpit…
But, knowing the answer to Melchizedek’s identity really isn’t the important issue here.
The important thing here in Psalm 110 is that the Messiah – Jesus – is being referred to as a timeless king…and an eternal priest.
These regal and priestly attributes of Jesus are of utmost importance to us today as well.
Jesus is King…therefore we need to make him Lord and ruler of our lives…
And…Jesus is our high priest…his sacrifice on the cross – and His continual intercession for us before the Father…
…Ensures that those who have placed their faith and trust in Him will be delivered on the day of judgement.
In this season of Advent, we turn our attention to the coming of Jesus Christ…both his first coming…and his 2nd coming….which many of us believe will be relatively soon.
The first Sunday of Advent has traditionally been identified with hope.
Hope – in a biblical sense – is not a wishy-washy kind of knock-on-wood hope.
Biblical hope is confident expectation…based upon the faithfulness of God to deliver upon His promises to His children.
Brothers and Sisters…how is your hope doing this Advent season?
Where is your needle pointing on your “Hope-Meter”?
When it comes to your relationship with Jesus and your eternal destiny, would you characterize it as one resembling a worldly hope of uncertainty….
…Or one of a biblical, secure, confident hope?
My prayer for all of us is that your hope is characterized by a confident expectation that on the day you come before God…
…that He will render you redeemed through the atoning blood of His Son…Jesus Christ.
Today, if you have any uncertainties concerning your faith or your salvation, would you bow your head and say this short prayer with me…
“Heavenly Father…I am a humble sinner in need of a savior. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin, which is death. Father, God, I repent of these sins, and I place my wholehearted faith and trust in the person & work of Jesus Christ who died for my sins, and who – 3 days later - rose again. I believe that his death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness, and I trust in Jesus alone for that forgiveness. Father I pray for the Holy Spirit to work in my life, and give me the strength to live each day in consistent obedience to your eternal word for the rest of my life. Thank you, Lord, for saving me and forgiving me. Amen.”
If you just prayed that prayer with me for the very first time…welcome to the family!
I’d love to talk with you after the service about your decision to follow Christ and help you get started in your new journey of faith.
…and if you are someone who prayed that prayer 80 years ago…or anytime in-between…
My prayer for you would be that this season of Advent would be one that re-ignites the passion in your heart to live with hope-filled, reckless abandon for your savior.
So…that when we all appear before him someday, we may hear the words “Well done, my good and faithful servant”
Let’s Pray.